It had been reported in the press that a number of Premiership clubs were keen to sign the England Under-21 international and that it was Sir Bobby’s Ipswich links which enabled us to clinch the player’s signature.
But that appears not to have been the case.
"I watched Darren and my scouts saw a lot of him before we decided he was a player to enhance our squad," Sir Bobby told the FA’s official website.
"I said to my chairman 'There's a young player we should have here' and he went off to do the best deal possible for Newcastle United. That's how any chairman would handle it, isn't it? I didn't get involved in negotiations myself - that's the chairman's job.
"From what I have been told, Newcastle were the only club to make an offer for the kid. I know Aston Villa liked him, but they didn't come up with the money.
"He was there for Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United or whoever, but the truth is that only one club followed up their interest by offering hard cash."